World Briefs

February 02, 2009

GOLFLong putt lifts Perry Kenny Perry finally finished off Charley Hoffman in a playoff, making a 22-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole Sunday in the FBR Open. After Perry bogeyed the final hole of regulation to set up the playoff, the two bogeyed and parred the first two extra holes. Perry then rolled in the long putt on the 332-yard, par-4 17th to end the second straight playoff in the event. Perry closed with a 2-under 69 to match Hoffman (67) at 14-under 270 at TPC Scottsdale. It was the 13th PGA Tour victory for Perry, the 48-year-old from Kentucky who won three times last year and played on the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team. Kevin Na (68) finished third at 13 under. Na rallied from six strokes back, but barely missed an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole that would have put him in the playoff. Perry blew a chance to win it in regulation. Leading by a stroke, all Perry needed was a par on the 18th, a hole he birdied twice and parred once this week. But he drove into a fairway bunker and had to settle for a bogey 5. That set up the playoff, and it looked as if neither player wanted to win. The playoff opened at the 438-yard, par-4 18th, and Hoffman and Perry drove into bunkers and settled for bogeys. The playoff moved to the 403-yard, par-4 10th, which Hoffman birdied in each of the first three rounds. Hoffman bombed his tee shot off a cart path and over the green, then chipped to 13 feet. Perry drove into the left rough, then hit an iron 20 feet from the cup. Both players two-putted, and the playoff dragged on to the 17th. That was where, in regulation, Perry had taken a short-lived one-shot lead with a birdie about an hour earlier. This time, Perry drove to the right of the green, then chipped to about 22 feet. Hoffman hit his tee shot into a bunker and also chipped to the fringe before missing a 34-footer for birdie. That opened the door for Perry, who rolled in the winner in front of a gallery that had dwindled as spectators left to watch the Super Bowl. Teen stars in Dubai Northern Ireland teen star Rory McIlroy won the Dubai Desest Classic for his first European tour victory, finishing with a 2-under 70 for a one-stroke win over England's Justin Rose. The 19-year-old McIlroy, the seventh youngest winner in European tour history, had a 19-under 269 total. Rose closed with a 67. Sweden's Henrik Stenson (67) was third, two strokes back at 17 under. NBAPerkins fined $10K Kendrick Perkins was fined $10,000 by the NBA for a flagrant foul on Detroit's Jason Maxiell that led to the Boston Celtics forward's ejection Friday night. Perkins said Sunday he would not appeal. "I think it's right. I think justice was served," he said. "I can pay that fine." Perkins was ejected in the fourth quarter of Friday's game after being called for a flagrant foul with 5:56 to play and the Celtics leading 70-65. Perkins pulled Maxiell to the floor by the neck while Maxiell was trying to put back an offensive rebound. AUTO RACINGMayer dies at 73 Teddy Mayer, who helped build McLaren into a Formula One powerhouse, has died in Woking, England. He was 73. McLaren team principal Ron Dennis said Mayer, an American who had lived in England for several years, died on Friday. After winning two F1 championships at McLaren, Mayer moved into CART racing, joining the Penske team and, as vice chairman, oversaw the team's successes in the 1990s.